Poker Night in America - Episode 11 Recap

Gavin Smith, the "Class Clown of Poker" caught our attention last episode with his bacon patterned jacket (on loan from Tom Schneider, of course). If you've been watching up until now, you've certainly noticed that Smith is the most talkative and amusing player at the table. But don’t let his jovial, unpredictable, half smashed banter fool you. Smith has one the most analytical poker minds. After all, he has won a WSOP gold bracelet and several other major tournament titles, in between drinking greyhounds, of course.

The Court Jester Always Plays the Tightest

"Gavin Smith is amazing at building an image that he's loose and fun, be he's probably the tightest player at the table" admits David Baker at the beginning of episode 11. Self-proclaiming himself the table captain, Smith ♣ J 9 ♠ goes head-to-head with Schneider ♣ Q ♣ 5 at the top of the episode. The Flop is ♥ 9 ♣ A ♣ 4 and both players check. The Turns comes out ♠ 2. Gavin bets $175 with his pair of 9s and the "Donkey Bomber" calls with his Flush. The River is another ♥ 2 and Smith bets $325. Schneider folds and the "Court Jester of Poker" takes down the pot.

The Skill versus Luck Ratio

Hey may admit to drinking more Vodka than the entire Ukraine, but Gavin Smith does have some words of wisdom to share with us in this episode. He tells us that poker is a game of luck and skill combined. Over the long term, the skill ratio rises but in the short term, it's mostly about luck. This is something he experienced for himself after stumbling upon Texas Hold'em while working on golf courses and then moving on to be one of the world's greatest poker players.

Online Poker Losses Revealed

David Baker asks Greg Merson what's his biggest and worst online poker loss. Merson admit's that his biggest online loss was $100,000 in one day and his biggest win was $80,000 in one day. Somerville then reveals that his online poker play used to consist of playing less tables for higher stakes His biggest loss was about $50,000 in a day.